Manifolding apparatus for typewriting machines



2,386,430 mqngcnmm Oct. 9, 1945.

c; w. BRUMHILL MANIFOLDING K'EPARATUS FOR TYPEWRIT Filed Feb. 24. 1945 "a Sheefs-Sheet 1 &

1 H1 EH N VEN 70R CLAUDE W;

Oct. 9, 1945.

,6. w. BRUMHILL 2,386,430-

MANIFOLDING APPARATUS FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1945 e sneet-shet 2 Inventor CLAUDE W; BRUMHILI.

, Attorn e;

'-Oct. 9, 1945.

c. w. BRUMH ILL MANTIFOLDING APPARATUS FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Fileci Feb.-.24, 1943 e sheets-sheet s xw m BC oosooQeaosoooooow W E D HUv A L c BRUMHILL ttorney 0a 9, 1945. c, 'BRUMH LL 2,386,430

MANIFOLDING APPARATla xF gfi TYPEWRITING MACHINES /0o;"' 1 Doe Y Inventor CLAU DE BRU MHILL y Attorney Oct. 9, 1945. c. w. BRUMHILL MANIFOLDING AIEPARATUS FQR TYPEWRITING MACHINES e Shee'ts-Shet 5 Filed Feb. 24, 1945 Oct. 9, 1945. c.'w. BRUMHILL 2,386,430

I MANIFOLDING APPARATUS FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Inventor CLRU DE W. BRUMHlLL Patented Oct. 9, 1945 40mm) STATES PATENT OFFICE MANIFOLD-DIG APPARATUS FOR TYPE,-

WRITING MACHINES Claude Wellington Brnmhill, Leicester, England,

assignor to The Imperial Typewriter Company, 1 Limited, Leicester, England Application February 24, 1943, Serial No. 476,970

In Great Britain November 27, .1942

8 Claims. (Cl. 1-97126) This invention comprises improvements in and relati g to manifolding apparatus .or attachments for typewriting machines and. relates to thatkind of apparatus that is intended for the production of a plurality of carbon copies by employing a plurality of, plies of continuous stationer'y interleaved with carbon she'etso-r transfer material and comprises a carbon support trolley or the like (hereinafter referred to as a trolley) movabletowards the typewriting mechanism in typewriting and away from the said mechanism e. g. to "retract the carbons between" the plies of stationery, and a track on which the trolley moves. Such apparatus is hereinafter termed of the kind referred to, and is commonly constructed as an attachment to be attached to the rear of a typewriter.

In apparatus of this and somewhat similar kinds, various arrangements for the retraction of the trolley have been proposed or put into practice. In one arrangement, the trolley is pushed back by hand while in the other hand the operator grasps the front edge of the paper web. In others, the advance of the trolley asthe paper and carbons are fed forward by the platen stores up energy in a spring which is subsequently, released to retract the trolley, with the web and carbons, the trolley being then locked in its rear position while the web is pulled forward by hand.

The present invention" is primarily concerned with improved arrangements for the retractionof the trolley and as viewed from one aspect provides manifol-ding apparatus of the kind 'referred to, having spring return mechanism'for retracting the trolley, and means for winding up said mechanism at the termination of the forward travel of the trolley. This arrangement therefore obviates the trolley being drawn-forward against the pull of the return mechanism. It is especially applicable to typewriting machines having a platen displaceable between operative and inoperative positions, and as viewed from'another aspect the invention includes the combination, with such. a machine, of manifolding apparatus of the kind referred to, having spring return mechanism for retracting the trolley, and means for winding up said mechanism in displacement of the platen to its inoperativeposition at' the termination of the forward travel of the trolley. Thus, particularly in the case of a machine in whichthe platen is displaceable man- 'ually,,there may be an operating connection bealthough an elastic cord or the like maybe em-.

may be a tension spring or a compression spring,

ployed.

I For reasons that appear hereinafter, it is furtherpreferred that the arrangement shall be such that the spring effort is not applied to the retraction of the trolley until a predetermined stage in the displacement of the platen. A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby, for equal distances of travel of the trolley the applied spring force is kept substantially constant.

These, and other features of the invention set out in the appended, claims, are incorporated in the construction which will now be described as an example with reference to the accompanying. drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan of the relevant parts of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is aside elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a plan, partly in section, of a portion of the apparatus with the cover plate hereinafter referred to removed;

Figure 4 is a plan showing certain details of the mechanism shown in Figs. 1-'-3,'and draw band clutch release mechanism;

' Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of certain of themechanism, looking forward towards the typecatch, mechanism, for the carbon trolley, in the attitude occupied by it whenthe draw band clutch is engaged and the carrier blades not in position; Figure 10 is a like view showing the catch mechanism when the carrier blades are in position;

Figure-11 an opposite side elevation, partly in section, corresponding to Fig. 9, but with the draw ban-dclutch disengaged;

Figure I2] is a side elevation of adjustment mechanism for adjusting a back stop for the t ol y; I

Figure. 13 shows said back stop;

Figure 14 is an elevation of a part of a release rail for the trolley.

The invention is illustrated as applied to a main-folding attachment of the kind. (of which that described in British patent specification No. 548,199 is one example) comprising a carbon trolley 21] mounted by means of wheels 2| to travel on tracks 24 of a frame. (indicated generally "at 22) towards and away from the typewriter carriage 2.3; the .said frame 22 is itself frame 22 andthenceto the anchorage 52.

attached to the rear of the carriage 23 to travel therewith, and for this purpose is supported by means of wheels 25 on a track 25 of a support frame generally indicated at 21 and which is conveniently attached to the rear of the typewriter itself. The details of this frame 21 are not important to the invention; the frame 22 may comprise longitudinals 22a22b and cross members 22e, 22f. The carbon trolley 29 carries carbon blade supports 28 in which carbon blades 29 may be releasably mounted and for particulars of one construction of carbon support reference may be made to the aforesaid patent specification. As is well known, as typing proceeds the interleaved carbons and plies of paper are fed round the ber 46 is drawn forward thereby the trolley 2|! is drawn to the rear. I

It is desirable, however, to provide means whereby the trolley 23 is prevented from movi towards the rear until the platen 38 has been raised sufficiently that undue friction will not occur between the carbons and paper and until the springs 41 have been tensioned to an adequate extent. For this purpose there is .a rack platen .38 and the carbon trolley 29 is therefore drawn forward towards the carriage. When the requisite length of typing has been effected the edge of the paper comes against a paper stop 33 on the paper support arm 34. By gripping the top edge of the paper against said support arm 34 the said arm is pulled forward, releasing the platen locking mechanism |2| (which may be as described in British patent specification No. 548,198), so that the platen sub-frame 3| is swung about its pivot 32 until the platen 30 occupies the position shown in chain dotted lines in Fig. 2. The carbon carriage is then retired, drawing the carbons rearwardly between the plies of paper, the platen is restored to its operative position, and the typed sheets of paper are torn off so that typing may be recommenced. The present invention is concerned with mechanism for retiring the carbon trolley 20.

I Connected to the platen sub-frame 3| at 35 there is arearwardly-extending arm 36 terminating in a rack 31 which engages a pinion 38 on a cross shaft 39 which is suitably supported in bearings on the frame 22. This shaft 39 further carries a drum 4D to which a metal draw band 4| is attached, the free end of thi band 4| being attached to a slider 42 which is mounted to slide on a track member 43 extending cen-" latter out of engagement with the rack 59.

trally of the frame 22, the said slider 42 being biased towards the rear by a light tension spring 44 so as to take up slack in the band. The said track member 43 also supports two slidable members 45 and 46 that are connected by a pair of tension springs 41, the member 46 being biased forwards by light tension springs 48 anchored to the frame 22 at 49. It will therefore be seen that when the platen 30 is raised -to an inoperative position the shaft 39 and drum 40 are rotated to wind up the band 4| and to draw the slider 42 forward. The said slider 42 contacts the member 45 and tends to tension the springs 41. The member 46 is connected to the carbon trolley 20 by an arrangement whereby the said spring tension urges the trolley rearwards to draw the carbons back between plies of paper. For this purpose said trolley 20 has connected to it at' 50 a cord 5| or other flexible member which passes over a pulley or like system and has its other end connected to an anchorage 52 on the frame 22. The said pulley system is clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen that from the point 50 at which it is attached to the trolley 28 the cord 5| extends rearwardly to a pulley 53 on frame 22, then forwards to pulley 54 on slidable member 46, rearwardly to pulley 55 on frame 22, forward to a second pulley 56 on member 46, and then rearwardly and around pulleys 51 and 58 on From this arrangement it Will .be appreciated that when the springs 4T are tensioned and the memblock 9| 59 (Figs; 1 and 5) extending lengthwise of the frame 22 and conveniently formed in a cover plate 60 concealing the springs 41, the pulley system, and associated parts, and with this rack 59 a releasable gravity pawl 6| on the trolley 20 co-operates, the arrangement being such that as the trolley advances the paw1 6| clicks over the rack 59 and prevents rearward movement of the trolley until it is released. This release is effected by means of a lifting finger or cam 62 on shaft 39 which, at the appropriate stage, makes contact with a release rail 63, hereinafter described in greater detail, which rail co-operates with a roller 64 on the paw1 6| and lifts the This rail 53 extends lengthwise of the frame 22 and is attached to frame member 220 by means of screws 55 that extend throughslots 66 in it (Fig 14). Therefore irrespective of the position occupied by the trolley 20 at the termination of its forward advance, the pawl 6| will be raised at a predetermined point in the release movement of platen 36.

For convenience in setting up the machine it is necessary to disconnect the springs 41 and to provide for a free trolley. The drum 43 is slidable along shaft 39 against the. acti n of a compression spring to disengage a dog clutch 8| whereby it is normally clutched to the shaft.

This clutch release is effected by means of a push rod 82 which extends through suitable bearings on the frame 22, and at one end engages a flange of the drum 4!! and at the other end is provided with a push button 83. When pushed in the rod releases the dog clutch Bl. It also rocks, by means of a collar 84, a bell-crank-lever 85 pivoted at B6 to the frame 22 which bell-cranklever thereupon raises the release rail 63 and releases the pawl 6|. The said pawl 6| is provided with a platform or lip 6|a which extends underneath one arm 81a. of a three-armed lever which is pivoted at 88 on the detachable head 29a of the trolley 20. A further arm 81b of the said lever normally projects above the surface of the trolley, while the third arm 81c overlies the rear end of a stop pawl 89 which is pivoted to the trolley 29 at 98. Normally a spring I23 causes the stop pawl 89 to engage with the rack 59, but when the clutch release rod 82 is pushed inwards to release the clutch 8| and pawl 89 is released as shown in Fig. 11. Means are provided for retaining the clutch 8| in the free position. To this end the release rod 82 has a (Figs. 5, 6, and 7.) attached to it and is biased in the anti-clockwise direction (lookin on the outer end of rod 82) by a tension sprin 92 extending between a projecting rod 93 on said block and a plate94 attached to the frame 22. The said block 9| is provided with a slot 95 for the reception of a dog 99 attached tosaid part 94, while at the right-hand side of said slot 95 there is a short recess 97.. Therefore, when the clutch release rod 82 is pushedin, the block 9| disengages from, the dog 96 andsaid block and rod. are rotated by, spring 92 ,until the dog. 96 engages in the recess 91; the rod 82 is then held in ;the, free position, audit may; here be menhoned that the' drum 40-is prevented fromroliatillg' underthe influence of take-up spring 44 by the'engagement'of a pin 98 projecting from itiwith an abutment 89 on the frame 22. When it is desired to engage the clutch the knob 88 and rod 82 are turned in the clockwise direction to align the dog 56 with the slot 95 and the compression spring 80- thereupon moves the drum 40 andqnot only engages the dog clutch 8| (already correctly positioned for engagement by members 98, 99) but also moves the release rod 82 to the left in Figs. '5' and 6, and engages the dog'flli in the slot 95.

It is desirable that some kind of tell-tale shall be provided sothat the operator can readily see whether the rod 82 is in the release position. For this purpose there is a member I08 which freely encircles the rod 82 between the'blockill and a collar I I so as to slide with the rod. The said member I00 is prevented from rotating with the the further result that the spring force is progressively increased as the carbons are shortened and the trolley 20 uses portionsof its track that are progressively nearer the carriage. It will therefore be appreciated that it is desirable so to arrange matters that, irrespective of the portion of the track over which the trolley moves (or, as viewed from an analogous aspect, irrespective of the rear limit of travel of the trolley),

rod by means of a screw I02 which extends through'a slot I03 into a part of the frame 22,

and is provided at the top with anoverturned lip I001; which travels beneath a hole I04 in a's'm-all coverplate I05 and is coloured in two dififerentcentre of 'rod 82 than When'the platen is in its operative position. This part of the rack co-operates with a collar II4 on red 82 and prevents the rod being pushed in, whereas when the platen is in' operative position the rack is sufficiently spaced from'rod 82 to permit the passage of collar H4.

The illustrated arrangement of pulleysensures that the spring force tending to return the trolley '20 is proportional to the length of travel of the trolley. It will'be noticed from Fig. 3 that with the trolley in the rearward position there is a "space between slider 42 and member 45. As

the trolley travels forwards, the member-45 moves back in the ratio-4 :1 an'cl're'duces the gap. Hence,

the nearer to the carriage '3I is the forward limit or trave or "the trolley 20 the less is the idle motion of the slide 42 (when drawn forward by -the act of raising the platen 30) before it contacts member '45 and greater is par-ted to springs 41-. I

the tension im- Thelength of the forms or the like to be typed is-usually such as to necessitate the trolley travellin'g over only a portion of the distance af- -fordedbytracks24 'In-such case it is usual to commence with fairly long carbons, and to have the trolley 20 utilising a rearward portion of its permissible travel. As typing proceeds the carb'ons wear, and therefore, the operator periodically tears a strip off the front end thereof, thus progressively shortening the carbons and cansing the trolley' 20 to utilise portions of its track that are progressively nearer the carriage 3|. Since the "members 45, 46 are connected to the trolley 20 in such manner that as thelatter moves forward-said members are moved back, unless precautions are taken this would result in the spacing (shown in Fig. 3) between member 45 l and slide 42 decreasing, thereby decreasing the idle motion of the slide 42 before it contacts member 45 and applies tension to springs 41, with for equal distances of travel of the trolley the spring force shall be kept substantially constant or shall not unduly increase. a

In order to overcome these difliculties the anchorage 52 of the cord 5I is adjustable, so that by moving said anchorage 52 towards the rear of the frame 22 themembers 45, 46 are permitted tomove forward under the influence of tension springs 48. For this purpose the said anchorage 52 is slidable along a strip 61 (Figs. 3 and 12) attached to frame member 22a and pierced with holes 68 in Which a plunger 59 incorporated in said anchorage 52 may be selectively engaged. This adjustment is also employed to adjust a back stop 10 for the rearward limit of travel of the trolley 20. The said anchorage 52 has connected to it, at II and I2, the two ends of a cord. 13 which extends in two laps between pulleys 14 and I5 at opposite ends of frame 22, one of which laps carries the stop 10. In advance of the stop 10 there is preferably a cushioning spring 16 on the cord I3 with which spring an abutment 'I'I (Fig. 1-3) on the underside of the trolley 20 cooperates.

Means are provided for adjusting thetension to be exerted by the springs 41. This adjustment is shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The draw band 4I, which'has one end secured to the slider 42, has its other end secured to the drum 40 at I08 but has a loop indicated at 4| in Fig. 8 passing round a pulley I01 mounted in a cradle I08 that is adjustable along a track I09 on a frame member to which the track 43 is connected. Obviously by adjusting the cradle I08 the size of the loop 4! is adjusted and the spacing between the slider 42 and the spring anchorage member 45 is increased or decreased. The adjustmentis effected by a lead screw IIO which screws through a part I08 of cradle I08 and is located by means of a nut III and a knurled nut II2 on opposite sides of a downward extension I09 of the track I09. By rotating'the knurled nut I I2 the lead screw III] is rotated. The latter is provided with two lock nuts H3 50 that if desired it may be locked in any position, and the extent of the adjustment is indicated by a pointer 1 2.2 onthe frame 22 which co-operates with plus and minus signs on the cradle I08.

In setting-up the manifolding apparatus the push button 83 is pushed in to the free carriage position and the web of paper is brought forward over the support rail I H5 at the back of the frame 22 and is fed under the platen 30 as far as the tearing 01f knife H6. The paper is then clamped in position at the back of the frame by means of a clamp arm Ill projecting from one of the two guide plates IIS which plates are frictionally mounted so as to be rotatable and slidable along the support rail H5. The paper being thus secured, and 'slidable paper guides I I9 at the front of the frame 22 and the uides 'on the trolley 20 having been adjusted (the latter by screw means I20a and slots I20b), the paper support arm 34 is swung forward td the substantially horizontal position shown inhotte lines in Fig. 2, in which 'the'platen30 is; aise The front end of the paper is" thus freed from the platen, and the carbon blades 29with their attached carbons are then inserted starting with the lowermost blade, and it will be appreciated that when the lowermost blade 29 is placed in position it depresses the lever arm. 81b as shown in Fig. 10 so that when at a still subsequent stage the release rail 63 is lowered the safety pawl 8% is held disengaged from the rack 59. The carriage 2!! is then so adjusted and the back stop 10 set by means 69 that the front edges of the carbons are located at the appropriate distance short at the front edges of the paper, leaving the requisite margin for the thumb grip. Next, the platen is lowered, the clamp H1 is released -and the paper is fed round the platen to the typin position and the push button 83 is turned so that the rod 82 springs outwards and the dog clutch M is engaged. This movement of the rod 82 likewise lowers the release rail 53. and permits the gravity pawl 6! to descend. Typing may therefore proceed until the front edge of the paper comes against the adjustable paper stop 33 on the paper support arm 34. With the right hand the operator then grasps the top margin of the paper against said arm 34 and swings the latter forward as in Fig. 2. During this move"- ment the drum 4! is rotated and the springs 41 are tensioned until at the appropriate stage the cam 69 causes the release of the pawl 6| so that the carriage 20 is retired to the position set by the back stop 10, drawing the carbons rearwardly for the appropriate distance between the plies of paper. The platen is then lowered to the operative position, the typed forms or the like being torn off the web of paper against the knife, and the next batch of typing may be commenced.

It may here be pointed out that since the position of the paper stop 33 on the paper support arm 34 is determined by the length of typing, the leverage afforded by said arm for raising the platen and for tensioning the springs is proportionate to the distance through which the carbons have to be retracted and to the degree to which said springs are tensioned to effect said retraction. It may also be pointed out that ii is desirable so to arrange matters that, in the raised position, the weight of the platen and paper support arm balances the pull exerted on the rack 30 by the springs 41. 1

The cord may be any flexible member ant pulleys 5358 are illustrated as one example 0; suitable guides for said flexible member.

I claim:

1. In combination with a typewriting machine having a platen displaceable between operative and inoperative positions: manifolding apparatus comprising a carbon support mounted for movement toward and away from the platen; means for moving said support toward the platen; spring mechanism for retracting the support from the platen; means for winding up said mechanism in the displacement of the platen to its inoperative position at the termination of the forward travel of the support; and means for delaying the application of the spring eifort to the retraction of the carbon, support until the platen reaches a predetermined stage in its travel to inoperative position.

2. Manifolding apparatusfor a typewriter machine having typewriting mechanism, which apparatus comprises a carbon support movable to and from the typewriting mechanism, a track on which the support travels, spring return mechanism for retiring the support from the typewriting mechanism, means for loading the spring mechanism at the termination of the forward travel of the support, a catch for preventing the application of the spring effort to the return of the support while the spring mechanism is being loaded, and release means, associated with the loading means, for releasing said catch.

3. The subject-matter of claim 2, having said catch arranged to hold the support in its forward position.

4. The subject-matter of claim 2, having a rack extending lengthwise of the track, a pawl engageable therewith for holding the support at its forward extremity of travel, and a pawl release, associated with the loading means, for releasing the pawl.

5. The subject-matter of claim 2, having a rack extending along the track, a pawl on the support engageable with the rack to hold the support at the termination of its approach to the typewriting mechanism, a pawl-release member extending lengthwise of the rack for releasing the pawl whatever the terminal position of the support, and means for operating said member to release the pawl at a predetermined phase.

6. In combination with a typewriting machine having a platen displaceable between operative and inoperative positions: manifolding apparatus comprising a carbon support movable toward and away from the platen; a track upon which said support travels; means for moving the support toward the platen; spring mechanism for retracting the support from the platen; means for winding up said spring mechanism in the course of displacing the platen to its inoperative position at the termination of the forward travel of the support; a lost-motion connection in the winding-up means; and means for reducing the lost motion as the support approaches the platen.

7. Apparatus according to claim'2, having the catch arranged to hold the support in its forward position, and an operators control for disconnecting the loading means and for releasing the catch.

8. Manifolding apparatus of the kind referred to, having spring-return mechanism for retracting the trolley, movable lengthwise of the trolley track and including a connecting member through which load is applied to the spring, winding-up means for the spring-return mechanism which means includes a driving member normally spaced from the connecting member but movable lengthwise of the track, on operation of the winding-up means, into contact with the connecting member to move the latter. and to load the spring, an adjustable back-stop for the trolley, adjustment means for said stop, a cord and pulley system connecting the adjustment means, the trolley, and the spring-return mechanism, a rack extending lengthwise of the track, a pawl on the trolley for engaging the rack and for preventing retraction of the trolley, and release means for releasing said pawl when the spring-return mechanism has been wound up to a predetermined extent.

CLAUDE WELLINGTON BRUMHILL. 

